Kings of Leon Doesn't Waste a Drop of Energy

Kings of Leon has returned. Cue the thunderous applause. The new "Walls" album hits stores, iPods, and most other forms of musical conveyance on October 14th. "Waste a Moment" delivers on the raw punch followers of the Tennessee natives have relied on for years. Wasted moment indeed. From the get go nobody on team Followill settles for less than exemplary effort. Caleb lays out some of the strongest vocals of his career to date and, given this song is a mere three minutes three seconds in length that amounts to far more than a tiny hill of beans or two. Were Jared's bass licks to go AWOL "Waste a Moment" wouldn't possibly have obtained this level of greatness. It pours all over a listener's ears like warm water emanating from a gaping bath tub. That's where the soul gets much of its juice from. Meanwhile Matthew inserts some lead guitar that hits the right aesthetic notes and then some. As usual Kings of Leon use grand use of the video art form to plug their product. Add a zinging bite of mystery and you've captured this family foursome back at doing what it does best. The tempo gets into a nifty glide space and refuses to take its teeth off the throttle. One roller coaster ride packed with wall to wall enthusiasm. The words do get somewhat odd contextually but we don't expect brilliance so long as the cohesiveness of the band stays intact. Mission accomplished there. The first line alone informs you Kings of Leon aren't your conventional wordsmiths. Austin's brand of weird stacks up nicely compared to not so tossed off band lines like: "All the way from Waco to WeHo with the rabbit on a chain." Who says that in this or any other space in time? Kings of Leon don't have any qualms about engaging in brain/vocabulary expansion. This band also knows how to pile on vivid characterizations as "Sex on Fire" made pretty plain not too many years ago. The backdrop gets set courtesy of gems like: "Sexy was her boyfriend with no kin always running from the law. Every other weekend, weekends with his back at her claw. I don't think any added visuals are necessary. Back to the main idea of this story, "Waste a Moment" loads up on vim and pulls off the power surge with authority. Follow Caleb's lead and the results are usually splendid. I totally admire the underlying urgency Kings of Leon brings to the table. That elevates their game past the pinnacle that most bands on today's scene will be lucky to reach in their prime. This effort uses the D chord to blistering effect. Once atop the horse not a stumble arises. "Waste a Moment" will never be accused of being a waste of anybody's eardrums. Kings of Leon has earned the right to reclaim its piece of the rock throne.